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MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



CHAKACTlii; AND PUBLIC SEIIYICES 



RiV. SAMUEL WARE FIfflRJ.DJili.D. 



^ i/.iri^ 



DKLIVERED IN THE 



Chapel of Hamilton college. 



ox THURSIX^Y, JANIARY 2i)TU, 1ST4 : 



Westminster Church, in Utica, 



ON SUNDAY EVEXIXO, FEKIU'ARY «Tn. 1874. 



iii^toi'ical jj!5ketcl( of VV e;Stii\in^'tef Cliufcl}. 



UTICA, N. Y. 

CuRTiss & Guilds, Printers, 167 Genesee Street. 

1874. 






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INTRODUCTION 



The Memorial Addresses that appear in the following pages, were 
first delivered in the chapel of Hamilton College, on Thm-sday, Jan- 
uary 29, 1874. The occasion drew together many friends of the 
■college and of Dr. Fisher, whose faces are more fomiliar in other 
places of public worship. Among these were Hon. Lewis Law- 
rence, Timothy Parker and Samuel W. Raymond, Jr. of Utica, 
Hon. O. S. Williams, Dr. J. C. Gallup, Dr. T. B. Hudson, Rev. 
F. A. Spencer, Dr. D. K. Mandeville, Rev. S, W. How^ell, Rev. 
O. C. Cole, Rev. Samuel Wells, and Gaius Butler, one of the 
few surviving pupils of President Backus. The members of the 
Faculty were also present, with their families and the undergradu- 
ates. The exercises were introduced with singing by the college 
■choir, reading of Scripture by President Brown, and prayer by the 
Rev. Thomas J. Brown. After the addresses, tiie memorial servi- 
ces closed at half-past one, with singing by the college choir, and 
the benediction by Rev. Thomas J. Brown. 

II. 

At the urgent recpest of many who could not attend the service in 
Clinton, the Memorial Addresses were repeated in Westminster 
Church, in Utica, on Sunday evening, February 8, 1874. The con- 
gregation of the First Presbyterian Church united with tliat of the 



4 MIJMOKIAl, OF i)R. FISHEK. 

Westminster Church, and a very large audience Avere deeply inter- 
ested in the following exercises : 

I. Singing by the choir, ''Jesus, I. over of my soul." 
II. Reading of Scripture and Prayer, by Rev. S. P. Sprecher. 

III. Singing by the choir and congregation, " Nearer, my God, 

to Thee." 

IV. Biographical Discourse, by President Samuel G. Brown. 
V. Singing by the choir, "• Beyond the Smiling and the Weeping." 

VI. Addresses by Hon. William J. Bacon and Rev. Thomas J. 

Brown. 
VII. Singing by the Choir, •' There is a blessed home." 
VIII. Benediction, by President Brown. 

III. 

At a meeting of the Session of Westminster Church, of Utica, 
Rev. Tho>l\s J. Browx, Theodore Pomerov, Esq., and Prof. 
Edward North were requested to act as a Committee of Publica- 
tion, to reproduce in permanent form the addresses delivered Sunday 
evening, February 8, 1874, as tributes to the memory of Dr. Samuel 
W. Fisher, formerly ])astor of the Church. 

H. H. CURTISS, 

Clerk of thr Sessioir, 



THE 

COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION 

FIND MUCH TLEASURE IN 
RECORDING THE GENEROUS CO-OrERATION OK 

HON. LEWIS LAWRENCE, 

OF UTICA, 

WHO HAS GREATLY LIGHTENED THEIR LAKOR 

KY FURNISHING THEM WITH 

ALL NEEDED FUNDS, 

AND HAS THUS LINKED HIS NAME BY ANOTHER GRATEFUL 

ASSOCIATION WITH THE REVERED MEMORY 

OF HIS 

PASTOR AND FRIEND. 



SAMUEL WARE FISHER. 

Born in Morristown, New Jersey, April 5, 1814. 

Oraduated from Yale College in 1835, 

Graduated from Union Theological Seminary in 1839. 

Installed Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in West Eloomfield, 
New Jersey, April 18, 1839. 

Married to Anna Caroline Johnson, of Morristown, New jer- 
sey, October 22, 1839. 

Married to Jank Jackson, of Newark, New Jersey, May 18, 1842. 

Installed Pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church, in All)any, 
October 13, 1843. 

Installed Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, in Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, in 1847. 

Author of '' The Three Great Temptations," — published in 1852. 

Received the Doctorate of Divinity from Miami University in 1852. 

Trustee of Marietta College from 1854 to 1859. 

Elected Moderator of the New School General Assembly in 1857. 

Elected President of Hamilton College July 6, 1858. 

Received the Doctorate of Laws from the University of the City 
of New York in 1859. 

Author of "Occasional Sermons and Addresses," — published in i860. 

Installed Pastor of Westminster Church, in Utica, Nov. 15, 1867. 

Resigned the Pastorate of Westminster Church Jan. 13, .1871. 

Died in Cincinnati, Ohio, January 18, 1874. 



DISCOURSE 

BY 

PRESIDENT BROWN. 



We have met this evening in accordance with a custom 
which surely lias much to commend it, to pay a tribute of re- 
spect to one, who it seems to me but yesterday occupied this 
pulpit ; who formerly presided over a neighboring college, and 
exerted much influence upon its welfare ; who elsewdiere occu- 
pied positions of great responsibility in society and in the 
church, was widely known for his love of letters, for his efforts 
in behalf of. education, for his eloquence as a preacher, his 
lidelity as a pastor, and his weight in the larger councils of the 
great religious body with which he was connected. 

It is now almost four years since this community was startled, 
•as it has rarely been startled, by the tidings of the sudden and 
|dangerous prostration of Dr. Fisher, then pastor of this church, 
■by a stroke of disease whose nature and violence we could not 
on the instant determine. We feared, indeed, the worst ; we 
could hardly hope for the best. Time brought some allevia- 
tions. The severer symptoms passed awnj. The darkening 
understanding emerged again into the light, — or rather into a 
dim, unchanging twilight. The weeks and months, as they 
passed, brought no return of the thick darkness, but neither 
did they bring the clear day. It became evident, after awhile, 
that the work of that busy and overwrought brain was done ; 
that no more burdens could be laid npon it, no more tasks be 
accomplished. He accepted, reluctantly, yet with docility, the 
sorrowful conclusion, and, after a sufhcient time had elapsed to 
remove all reasonable doubt, the connection between him and 
the'people of his charge — of his last charge — was finally sun- 
dered, lie lingered here for a while longer, and then decided 



MEMOKIAT, OF DR. FISHF:R. 

to remove to tlie vicinity of his former ministerial labors in Cin- 
cinnati. It lias been only too evident, from the reports which 
now and then have reached ns since that time, that no change 
for the better was taking place, nor, perhaps, any change but 
one most gradual, and from day to day quite imperceptible. 
His hold on life was, however, growing feebler and feebler — 
the tissues of that delicate organ, the brain, it may be, gradu- 
ally losing strength, till at last a moment of extra exertion 
completed the work, and the end came suddenly and unlooked 
for. The shattered structure was gradually undermined, till 
it required but a feeble blow to bring it crumbling to the 
ground. This was on the morning of Sundaj-, the IStli of 
January, and on the next Wednesday all of him that was mor- 
tal was laid to rest bj' the side of three of his children in that 
(juiet rural cemetery near Cincinnati, of whose beauty he used 
often to speak. 

Dr. Fisher was a native of Morristown, 1^. J., where he was 
born, 'as I am informed, April 5, 1814. His father was an 
eminent Presbyterian minister, for many years in charge of 
the Church in Morristown, then one of the largest in the 
State; and afterward for twenty years the pastor of the 
Presbyterian Church in Paterson. He was the first mod- 
erator of the General Assembly of the New School body 
after its separation from the old, and was long recognized 
as one of the most earnest workers in the church, to whose 
welfare his life w^as consecrated. To the example and counsels 
of such a father was naturally owing something of the 
tastes and tendencies of the son. Dr. Fisher was early initiated 
into the modes of thought and action common to the great 
body with which he was connected. Its Iraditions were all 
familiar to him from boyhood. 

The choice of a profession to a young man is sometimes 
difficult ; the result of anxious deliberation ; the conclusion 
reached through much doubt and conflict. To him it Avas easy ; 
a profession to which his life had been naturally and divinely 
shaped ; the most satisfying and best, he thought, which can 
be chosen by man. His desires and wishes, his purposes and 
ambitions, if I maj^ use the word in its better sense, opened 
out in the direction of work fur and throuirh the Presbvterian 



MEMORIAL OF DR, FISHER. 9 

Chureb. Here was ground ample and noWc, whose every hill- 
side and vale were familiar to him. and it is perfectly natural 
that he should always have felt himself most at liome with the 
congregations and presbyteries, the synods and assemblies of 
this powerful bod}'. Of his early life I have been able to learn 
but little, lie was graduated at Yale College in 1835 ; spent 
a year in Middletown, Ct.; pursued his theological studies at 
Princeton for two years, and completed them afterwards at 
Union Theological Seminary in New York. Immediately after 
leaving the seminary, he became the minister of the Presbyte- 
I'ian church in AVest Bloomfield, X. J., where he continued 
three years and a half.'" From this he removed in 1843 to a 
larger and more trying Held of labor, being installed on the 
13th of October in that year as pastor of the Fourth Church 
of Albany. This position was one of unusual delicacy and 
difficulty. The church was, probably, at that time, the largest 
in the whole denomination, having more than 900 names upon 
the roll of its communicants. He succeeded men eminent for 
ability, earnest and unsparing in effort, and conspicuous by suc- 
cess, whose aims were high, although mainly directed towards 
one immediate result, and whose methods, very effective for 
their purposes, demanded a peculiarity of temiDerament and 
ability rarely conjoined, and involved a strain upon the sensi- 
])ilities and nervous energies which could not be permanently 

*The records of the Presbyterian Churcli in West Bloomfield, now Mont- 
clair, N. J., contain the following memoranda in the handwriting of Dr. 
Fisher. They were copied for the committee of publication by Dr. J. Ko- 
meyn Berry, present pastor of that church : 

" In the early part of the year 1840, this church enjoyed a season of re- 
freshing from on high. A sermon by the pastor from Jer. xxviii. 16, was 
followed by an immediate interest. The places of meeting were too small 
to hold the people, and the church was opened. Divine service was held 
once a day, and a great part of the time twice a day, for more than two 
months. The church was very much revived and blessed. Between 20 
and 30 have made a profession of religion here and elsewhere, as the fruits 
■of that revival. 

" In the fall of 1843, there were signs of an increased interest in religion. 
Some of the male members of the church were unusually aroused to labor 
iind prayer. In the early part of February, 1843, the revival seemed to 
have really commenced with power. The interest was chiefly among the 
joung men. Our meetings were not half so numerous as in the previous 
revival, nor was there the same anxiety in the community. Yet the con- 
victions of sinners were deeper, and the cases of conviction more numer- 
•ous. About 50 we trust have passed from death unto life. Some of these 
have left the i)lace. About 30 joined at the last communion, and a number 
yet remain to make a profession." 



10 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

maintained. A man, as he was, of independent thought, eoiildJ 
not possibly preach just as his predecessors preached, or adopt 
methods which were quite familiar and easy to them. His- 
mission was somewhat different from their's, but not less essen- 
tial, or requiring a lower order of talent, or less self-devotion.. 

To everything, says the wise man, there is a season, and so- 
are there different forms of ministerial labor, each essential in 
its proper time and place, the relative importance of which we 
do not care to estimate. Fora firm and beautif'ulbuilding there- 
must indeed be abundant and fittin": material, but there must 
also be wise selection and adaptation, much shaping and polish- 
ing and skillful adjustment. To the service to which he was- 
chosen the young pastor gave heartily, without reserve, the 
power with which he w^as endowed. Gratefully accepting the 
religions work which had been accomplished, devoutly ac- 
knowledging the spiritual power wdiich had awakened so 
many from their lethargy and brought them to a new life in 
Jesus Christ, he devoted himself, according to the measure of 
his ability, to the work of the ministry "for the perfecting of 
the Saints, for the edifying of the body of Christ." The various- 
materials of that spiritual building he endeavored to fashion 
into the shapes of comeliness and beauty. The important work 
of his predecessors he supplemented by other work quite as 
important in forming a complete and sound christian character, 
and a vigorous and active christian church. The results might 
be less noteworthy, might challenge less attention, and to the 
common mind be less an evidence of profound religious feeling 
or successful christian work, but they were none the less essen- 
tial. 

To enlarge the knowledge, to expand the christian sympa- 
thies, and to strengthen the christian character, in all ways to 
give it fullness and completness, — this was the peculiar and 
difficult labor of the young and inexperienced minister. Its 
result was to change considerably the character of the body, 
and to la}'- broader the foundations for strong and healthy 
growth, and so to contribute largely to the formation of one ot 
the most sound and efficient churches in the State. The work 
that he did there has not lost its value by the lapse of years, 
nor is the estimation of its importance, in the judgment of the 



MKMORIAL OF DK. FISHER. 11 

most judicious observers, less than at first. The extent of his 
reputation as a vigorous and effective preacher may be indicated 
bj the fact that, in 1840, he was called to succeed the most 
popular, the most widely kncnvn, and the most ])Owerful 
preacher of the new school body, in the Second Presbyterian 
Church of Cincinnati. Dr. Lyman Beecher had gone from 
Boston to Ohio, with the largest reputation for effective pulpit 
oratory, a reputation fairly won by tlie boldness with which he 
affirmed the great christian truths, tiie intellectual power of his 
discourses, and a wonderful ability to grasp alike the minds and 
the consciences of his hearers. Tiie weapons which he wielded 
were of ethereal temper, and he dealt his blows like a giant. It 
was a day of theological discussion ; of differences of opinion 
which seemed to go to the centre, and to be held so strongly as 
to separate chief friends ; a day not only of discrimination, but 
of divisions and separations, to which we are happily strangers. 
But these discussions stimulated thought to an amazing degree, 
and familiarized the common mind with ideas of the most pro- 
found and searching character. It is easy now, in the joy of 
reiinion, to say that these discussions were intemperate, that 
the differences were exaggerated, were based upon metaphysi- 
cal definitions, were upon subtle points beyond the power of 
finite and imperfect men absolutely to determine, were made 
to cover ground too broad, and to affect character as well as 
opinion. But there could be no doubt that the different parties 
were as sincere as they were thoroughly in earnest ; there 
could be no question of the depth or intensit)^ of their moral 
convictions, and quite as little of the profound feeling, the 
intellectual strength, the acuteness and subtlety of perception 
to which these discussions gave birth. Every mind interested 
in religious themes at all, was fully awake, alive in every part, 
and keenly sensitive to statement or argument. Great ques- 
tions pertaining to practical church efficiency were still unset- 
tled. New and bold measures for awakening the interest of 
irreligious men were regarded by different parties with approval 
or opposition. The methods of carrying on the great benevo- 
lent operations of the church, the modes of conducting foreign 
missions and domestic missions, forms of organization, volun- 
tary associations incorporated by the State, or Cliurch Boards 



12 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

•determined Lj the General Assembly — these subjects, and 
others like them, were beginning to agitate the minds of good 
and earnest men, to be advocated or opposed with unanswer- 
able arguments on both sides. 

Besides these, there were other questions partly political and 
partly moral already looming up, of portentous magnitude and of 
threatening aspect. The most important of tliese was domestic 
-slavery in its relations to the church and to pure morality on 
the one side, and to the Constitution, the Government and the 
political and civil welfare of the countrj^ on the other. Nor 
were these questions isolated, so that each could be treated by 
itself. They were strangely interlaced ; afRliatcd by unex- 
pected connections. Tliey became, in some form, watchwords 
to open or shut the gates to honor and preferment; they were 
proposed as tests of cliaracter, and awakened suspicion or 
inspired confidence, to an extent difficult for us fully to under- 
stand. It was not a small thing then for a minister still young, 
.comparatively unknown, to follow in pulpit ministrations the 
most renowned pulpit orator, the most powerful controver- 
sialist of the West; not an easy task, with prudence, skill, 
^commanding vigor, and above all, with christian fidelity and 
with a view to the broadest christian success, to maintain his 
position, to secure the confidence, the good will, the sympathy 
■of a large and unusually intelligent congregation, of various 
political affinities, trained to vigorous and discriminating 
thought. Here was not only opportunity, but imperative 
■demand for large and exhaustive labor. Here were conflicting 
■opinions to harmonize, — critical minds to satisfy, — plans for 
(Christian labor to be formed, — machinery to be organized and 
put in motion, — new evils to be met by new methods,- — tlie 
3ifeand vigor of the church itself to be maintained in the midst 
•of peculiar temptations, and so a larger and completer christian 
lionsehold gathered and inspired. 

This was the work which he performed. The difficulties 
of his position stimulated his energy. He was in the full 
vigor of every faculty. The field of labor was broad and 
full of encouragement. His words were not spoken to the 
empty air, but came back laden with the murmurs of approv- 
ing voices. He became an intellectual and moral power in 



MEMORIAL OF ]JK. FISHKR. 1 3- 

tlie eit3\ The young gathered al)Oiit liiiii, and he prepared 
more than one series of discourses particularly adapted to theii- 
tastes and wants. In no other place did he labor continu- 
ously so long as in Cincinnati, and to this period I suppose 
he afterward look back as on the whole the most successful and 
fortunate of liis life. He was in his chosen employment ; his 
manly energies at their highest vigor; a working church 
trained and stimulated by large foresight, in full sympathy with 
him, 'accepting his leadership, and cheerfully cooperating in 
christian word and work. What position, for one of deep 
religious convictions and high religious aims, can be so happy i' 
To rescue and save those ready to perish, — to avert so much 
missry and confer such inestimable good, — to raise and sustain 
an intellectual community in nobleness of moral purposes, in 
pureness of christian act, — in lives of self-denial and religious 
consecration, — in constant growth in every element of beauty 
and goodness and truth, — to give force and prevalence to those 
ideas and habits, those beliefs and activities, which form the 
ornament and defense of individuals which constitute the 
honor and strength of States, — this surely is a most beneficient 
most happy, most exalting service, never to be entered upon 
but with the purest motive, and never failing to bring its own 
ample reward. 

During the eleven years of his service in the great com- 
mercial city of Ohio, his mind had not been growing nar- 
rower, nor, engaged as he constantly was in duties most 
important and exacting, had he forgotten the claims of science 
and letters, or failed to meet the demands npon his time and 
talents necessarj'^ to their encouragement. The schools, colleges 
and professional seminaries of the State, and of neighboring- 
States, heard his voice and felt his influence, whenever he could 
say a word or lift a finger for their help. It was natural also 
that occupying so prominent a place he should have been called 
upon for various public services, and become of influence in 
the larger assemblies of the church. And here, too, raged some- 
of those conflicts to which I have referred, for one could hardly 
turn without treading npon some prejudice, — hardly utter an 
opinion without irritating some sensitive conscience, or whatr 
was called conscience. 



14 MEMOKIAI, OF UK. FISHKR. 

In 1857 the new school General Assembly met at Cleveland; 
of this learned and able body Dr. Fisher was chosen moderator. 
The subject of slavery had been discussed in more than one 
Genera] Assembly and the system strongly condemned. The 
southern members had as frequently protested against these 
deliverances, and in 1856 did not hesitate to acknowledge that 
their views in respect to the evil of slavery had materially 
changed, and they openly avowed that they nov/ accepted the 
system.* In 1857, "the Presbytery of Lexington, Kentucky, 
gave official notice that a number of its ministers and ruling 
elders held slaves from principle and of choice, believing it to 
be according to the Bible, right, and tliat the Presbytery, with- 
out qualitication, assumed the responsibility of sustaining them 
in so doing."f 

This position the assembly at Cleveland pointedly condemn- 
ed, while yet expressing a tender sympathy for those who 
deplore, the evil, and are honestly doing all in their power for 
the present well-being of their slaves, and for their complete 
emancipation.:}: 

These ideas of the two parties were too radically antagonis- 
tic, too deeply held, too frequently and publicly affirmed to 
allow fraternal cooperation. The southern synods thereupon 
withdrew, and formed themselves into a separate body, called 
the United Synod of the Presbyterian Church. It was in ref- 
erence to this secession, that in the sermon before the General 
Assembly of 1858, in Chicago, with which, as retiring moder- 
ator, he opened the sessions of that body. Dr. Fisher used 
these strong and generous words : 

"Fathers and brethren, ministers and elders, we assemble 
here amidst the brightness of scenes of revival — scenes such 
as the Church of Christ, perhaps, has never enjoyed so richly 
before. But as my eye passes over this audience, a shade 
of sadness steals in upon my heart. There are those who have 
been wont to sit with us in this high council, whose liearty 
greeting we miss to-day. Taking exception to the ancient, 
the imiform, the oft-repeated testimony of our church, as well 
fis to the mode of its utterance, respecting one of the greatest 

* Presbyterian Memorial, p. H2. f ll)id p. 80. iflbid j). S'-'>. 



MEMORIAL OK DR. KISHER. 15 

moral and organic evils of tlie age ; deeming it better to occupy 
a platform, foreign, indeed, to the genius of our free republi- 
•can institutions, yet adapted, in tlieir view, to the fuller pro- 
mulgation of the Gospel in the section where they dwell, they 
liave preferred to take an independent position ; and while we 
can not coincide with them in their views on this subject, 
while we know that this separation has been precipitated upon 
lis, not sought by us, yet remembering the daj's, when, with 
us, they stood shoulder to shoulder against ecclesiastical usur- 
pation and revolution, when in deepest sympathy we have 
gone to the house of God in company, and mingled our pray- 
ers before a common mercy-seat, "we can not but pray for their 
peace and prosperity. We claim no monopoly of wisdom 
and right. If in our course hitherto, we have been moved to 
iicts or deeds unfraternal or unbefitting our mutual relations — if 
in the attempt to maintain our ancient principles, and apply the 
Gospel to the heart of this gigantic evil, we have given utterance 
to language that has tended to exasperate rather than quicken 
to duty, we claim no exemption from censure, we ask the forgive- 
]iess we are equally ready to a-jcord.""" And then he closes bv 
•eloquently urging the church to comprehend her exalted and 
commanding position ; to develop in the line of God's provi- 
■dence ; not to remain fixed, chrystalized and stereotyped in the 
past, but to recognize the new, grand and nobler present, with 
-a catholic spirit toward other branches of the Church of Christ, 
to develop her resources in harmony with the true genius of 
iier constitution and discipline, in the fear of the Lord and in 
the comfort of the Holy Ghost. 

From the delivery of this able and weighty discourse on the 
^' Conflict and liest of the Church,'' of the style and spirit of 
which the above brief extract may give us an imperfect notion. 
Dr. Fisher came directly to Clinton, having been already con- 
sulted respecting the presidency of Hamilton College. His 
reply to the formal invitation of the Board of Trustees, accept- 
ing the trust, was not given until the annual meeting at Com- 
mencement. He entered upon his duties at the opening of the 
fall term of 1858, the ceremonies of the inauguration not tak- 
ing place until the fourth of November. 

*Sermons and addres?, p. 484. 



16 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHKR. 

From no other learned profession have the ranks of teachers 
in our higher institutions been so freely recruited as from the 
clerical, perhaps from the very nature of their common pursuitei 
and from the close harmony between them. The members of 
both these professions deal much with the young; both are 
accustomed to use the language of instruction ; neither can be 
said to labor for ample pecuniary reward, and both seek for 
high spiritual and intellectual results. 

The college had risen far above its earlier difficulties, and 
under a wise administration had for many years enjoyed an 
honorable reputation for thoroughness of instruction and disci- 
pline, but its resources were still insufficient, and its appeals for 
aid had not been quite loud enough to reach the ear of the 
wealthy and the liberal. Indeed, the day of ample endow- 
ment had not then dawned. Men who gave at all for the en- 
couragement of education, gave sometimes generously indeed^ 
but not with the amplitude of bounty which has conspicuously 
marked our time. 

Dr. Fisher, I think I am correct in saying, had two or three 
special objects in view when entering upon this new iield of 
labor. The lirst was, by means of sermons and addresses, by 
availing himself of his wide acc^uaintance with the Presbyte- 
rian bodies of this and other States, to bring the college into 
closer sympathy with the community at large, and especially 
the religious community ; to make it, through his own repre- 
sentations and those of others, more familiarly known, and thus 
to gather to it a larger measure of support. It was natural for 
him to aim to produce an impression l)y public services. In 
them he had given proof, and had experience, of his own power. 
His labors in carrying out this purpose were indefatigable. Our 
present easy communication with towns southward and north- 
ward did not then exist. He was obliged to drive long distan- 
ces, over rough roads, often by night, to meet his engagements. 
He was blessed with good health, and his restless energy allowed 
him no repose. In connection with this, and as a part of the 
same general scheme, he ably seconded the labors of the com- 
missioner, Dr. Goertner, in the essential, but difficult work of 
adding to the funds of the college. We owe a debt of grate- 
ful remembrance to Dr. Fisher for the persistency and untiring 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 17 

assiduity witli which he discharged this duty, a duty somewhat 
beside and beyond those which are usually thought to pertain 
to this office. 

To the period of his presidency wc assign the growth of 
a greater confidence and sympathy between this beautiful 
city and the college, a mutual pleasure and advantage. From 
this period dates the endowments of professorships, and char- 
itable foundations, and prizes for the encouragement of good 
learning, bearing honored names in this, and in neighbor- 
ing communities, and never to be forgotten by us. From 
this period dates also the effective enlargement, almost the 
new creation of the general funds of the college, and an im- 
petus and direction imparted to the liberality of the gener- 
ous and noble minded which has not ceased, but, let us hope, 
has yielded but the first fruits of an increasing harvest. 

During his presidency, the efficiency of the college instruc- 
tion was increased. The department of the ancient languages 
was divided, so that the complete attention of a professor could 
be given to each of the great ancient tongues. 

Another cherished purpose, to which he often referred, 
closely connected with the intellectual and moral discipline of 
the college, was the more effective introduction of the study of 
the Bible, its poetry, its history and its doctrine, as a part of 
the regular curriculum. In many of the New England col- 
leges, this good rule is so old, so inwrought into the general 
habit, that the memory of man runneth not to the contrary. 
But here the study had been pursued but fitfully and occasion- 
ally. Under his influence and in accordance with his wishes, 
the Bible assumed a more prominent place, which it has ever 
since retained, for the advantage of all. 

Dr. Fisher's views of the ends and methods of education are 
contained in several addresses which he delivered at different 
times, and which were afterwards collected and published. 
The very subjects of these are suggestive of broad and careful 
thought. They are such as " Collegiate education," " Theolog- 
ical training," " The three stages of education," (by which he 
discriminates child-life, the school and society,) " Female edu- 
. cation," " The supremacy of mind," " Secular and christian 
civilization," " Natural science in its relations to art and theol- 



18 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

ogy." I have recently re-read some of these addresses witli 
much satisfaction and profit. They are eloquent and sound. 
The most complete of tliem, perhaps, is his inaugural, in which 
he endeavors to develop his idea of what he calls the American 
collegiate system. 

In opposition to those who would suhstitute a technical for a 
liberal education, who would humor the special aptitudes devel- 
oped in boyhood, aptitudes or inclinations which may after 
all be the result of accident, or of opportunities, to indulge 
which unchecked may only increase the natural disproportion 
between the faculties, he argues for a more generous culture. 
*^ We will teach the mathematician," he says, " how to master 
language ; we will chasten the poetic imagination by the drill 
of abstract science ; we will teach the man of verbal memory 
to go through difficult processes of reasoning ; we will endeavor 
to cultivate in all the power of profound reflection and just 
discrimination, so that when they go forth into life, it will not 
be with a partial, a distorted, a one-sided intellect, a mind that 
has ability only in one line, and is prevented by its very train- 
ing from advancing in any other. The system of collegiate 
discipline thus seeks to give breadth, solidity, proportion to all 
the powers, * * It leaves special attainments for after study 
— individual choice. It supposes that the Grecian, the math- 
ematician, the rhetorician will be vastly more accomplished as 
scholars, and not at all less accomplished in the specialties 
,they have chosen, by having thoroughly mastered the entire 
circle of college studies." 

And then afterwards he goes on in a noble vein of generous 
thought, to portray the large effect of mastering the general 
elements of the whole system of truth by which we are sur- 
rounded. '* From this so wide range of knowledge," he says, 
the student " not only acquires the materials of illustration, 
which contribute so powerfully to the success of the orator, but 
he finds these principles so allied to each other, that in what- 
ever direction he pushes his investigations, spontaneausly they 
send in their contributions. Lights flame out on every side. 
He stands in the centre. Pie concentrates their blaze into an 
intenser light upon the subject he is seeking to penetrate. 
They guide and illustrate the student's path. * * They 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 19 

<3xpand and ennoble the forensic efforts of the lawj^er, by bring- 
ing the science which he wields for the cause of justice into 
sympathy and union with the profoundest principles of divine 
law. They give comprehension and elevation to tho. states- 
man, teaching him how human government hath its roots in a 
sublimer system of order, that hath its seat in the bosom of 
God." 

And then he closes, in words which deserve to be repeated 
and remembered, wuth a noble summary of the importance of 
these institutions, and their claims on good men who wish well 
to the State : " These christian institutions/' he says, " are not 
only tributary to the diff'usion of a correct literature ; they are 
equally essential to the advance of reh'gion and the highest civil- 
ization. They go down in their influence through all societ}^ 
They build up the common school ; they rear the academy; they 
aid the press; they cultivate art; they refine the rude; they 
iHiultiply the sources of wealth ; they qualify men for positions of 
trust and influence ; they stand among the foremost guardians 
'of the liberties of the State, and impart to her the lustre of 
ihigh intelligence. They minister at the bedside of the sick ; 
iplead in the forum of justice ; utter their judgments on the 
ibencli; frame laws in the halls of State; proclaim the Gospel 
in their pulpit, and send forth their words of light and truth 
to delight, ennoble and mold the minds of the millions of our 
stirring population. They give us influence abroad ; they rule 
• on the sea and the land ; and wherever the attribute of intel- 
lligence joined with just principles is mighty, there their works 
are seen, their influence felt. Shall such institutions as these 
fail of the appreciation and support of a noble people? Shall 
a State like this be a pensioner on others for that higher educa- 
'tion which she seeks for her children ? Will not her men of 
wealth covet for themselves the honor of building higher the 
walls of these institutions ?" 

Thus he spake in words which have gathered strength and 
not lost it ; have assumed a profounder and more vital signifi- 
cance, and not one more superficial and trite, as the years have 
rolled away. 

The whole address is an argument for breadth and loftiness 
•of culture. The scheme which it defends and enforces is noble 
and generous to the last degree. 



20 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

In 1862, in the midst of our civil war, occurred the semi-cen- 
tennial celebration of the founding of Hamilton College, a 
memorable occasion, marking the age and progress of the insti- 
tution as with a tall memorial shaft visible from afar. The 
address of Dr. Fisher is an admirable sketch of the college his- 
tory, portraying in picturesque language the events of its early 
and later life, with enthusiasm and faith commending it to the 
good will of its alumni and friends, and predicting its future 
prosperity. 

" It was," he said, " amid the smoke and thunder of war, that, 
fifty years ago, the foundations of this college were laid ; and 
when they passed away, lo ! on the hill-top had sprung into 
being a power mightier than the sword ; more glorious than 
its triumphs. It is amid the heavier thunder and darker clouds, 
of this dread conflict, when all that to us is most precious is in 
peril, that we celebrate our semi-centennial jubilee. This 
thunder shall roll away and the cloud disperse before the upris- 
ing patriotism of twenty millions of freemen, and the red right 
arm of the Lord of hosts." 

That was indeed to the nation an hour of darkness, when the 
light was as darkness, but he never " bated one jot of heart o-r 
hope," nor failed to act up to his patriotic faith. The record 
of his words and efforts in those days of trial and triumph, I 
leave to one who shared them with him with full sympathy, 
proving his sincerity by laying the most costly of jewels on 
the altar of liberty. 

After a service of eight years in Hamilton College, Dr. 
Fisher was solicited to accept again the position of pastor. 
The Westminster Church, of Utica, formerly in connection 
with the old school branch, but now willing, under his guid- 
ance, to change its ecclesiastical relations, cordially invited him 
to its pulpit. This position was undoubtedly more acceptable 
to him, more in accordance with the traditions of his early life, 
more nearly in the line of his previous studies and training and 
labors, than that which he had for some time occupied, and I 
think it must have been with something of the feeling of going 
to an old home, that he assumed again the charge of an impor- 
tant church. The work of a pastor and preacher was his most 
familiar work, and in entering upon it for the third time it was- 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 21 

with all the zeal of a neophyte, but with the wisdom and skill 
which come only from long and varied experience. With 
what forbearance and wisdom, with what sincerity and earnest- 
ness of purpose he endeavored to lead this people into their 
new ecclesiastical connection, others can recount better and 
more fitly than I. There must have been, of course, appre- 
hension with some, doubt with others, as to the way in which 
they were going. But he wounded no feeling, violated no 
prejudices even, but with natural, and, as it were, inevitable 
motion guided you of your own will as it were, along the 
chosen path, of itself sufficient evidence, perhaps, that the real 
differences were small, and of little account, and those which 
had served to separate and alienate were chiefly imaginary, such 
as christian sympathy and charity could easily remove. He at 
once marked out fields of christian labor in building up a mis- 
sion church, which now has outgrown its dependence, and in 
all ways which christian ingenuity could devise, sought to in- 
crease the efiiciency of the church. 

As a preacher, Dr. Fisher must be held to rank among the 
ablest of the Presbyterian body. With all that may be said 
by way of detracting criticism, it must still be allowed that 
our religious communities move along a pretty high level of 
intellectual experience and of religious feeling. To satisfy the 
reasonable demands of our congregations, requires a continuous 
intellectual exertion which, when we come to measure its force, 
is something startling. I do not wonder that so many poor 
sermons are preached, but rather that there are so many good 
ones. But Dr. Fisher moved above, far above the common 
level. Within the ample dome of that forehead, you felt, at 
sight, there dwelt a powerful brain. He brought to his dis- 
courses a mind well stored and well disciplined. There was 
a fullness and richness of thought which left you little or noth- 
ing in that direction to desire. An intellectual hearer could 
not fail to be attracted by his vigor. His style was often bold, 
sometimes picturesque, almost always clear and direct. His 
words were well chosen and exuberant. Thus full and weighty 
in matter, affluent in language, with no ambiguity in expres- 
sion, fertile in imagery and illustration, with a voice clear and 
penetrating, and a manner somewhat authoritative, it is not 



22 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

surprising that he was often sought for (no one, probably^ 
within our circle more frequently) to address public bodies on 
important occasions, a duty which he always performed with 
dignit}' and to the satisfaction of his hearers. The subjects of 
his discourses were various, and, as his mind was mainly occu- 
pied with grand and lofty themes, so there was a certain noble- 
ness, freedom and power of development, the natural and neces- 
sary fruit of his general studies and habits of thought. 

He had a sanguine temperament, and as he saw clearly, so 
was hopeful, self-trustful and coniident of success. This some- 
times led him to mistaken judgments from giving too little 
weight to the opinions of others, and so, perhaps might be 
thought, a defect, but when duly tempered it is only a virtue^ 
and a virtue greatly needed by him who would do much in 
this world where good is so constantly impeded, and obstacles 
heaped up in the way of truth and justice which would paralyse 
every effort of the merely cautious and prudent and wise. I 
should refer here to an opposite quality which rendered him^. 
what you might at first hardly expect, a most valued and accep- 
table pastor, whose visits to the bedside of the sick, whose- 
counsel and encouragement in hours of depression, calamity 
and doubt were aiwaj's a joy and strength. 

There was yet one other occasion not to be forgotten in whichr 
Dr. Fisher bore a prominent part in a great and memorable 
public service whose influence is incalculable ; I mean the 
measures which led to the reunion of the separated branches 
of the Presbyterian Church. 

There is no time to rehearse, even briefly, the events which 
tended to soften differences and to awaken the old brotherly 
love, to point out the methods by which great and good ends- 
were attained, to name even the resting places where the hosts- 
tarried by night in the wilderness, as they marched slowly 
toward each other, but as surely as the Hebrews were led by ai 
divine hand in their weary wanderings till they were ushered 
into their fruitful inheritance, were these great christian bodies 
heaven impelled, divinely guided, led as if visibly by the pillar 
of cloud and the pillar of fire. Contrary to- the expectations of 
many good men, contrary to the predictio-ns of many wise men, 
in spite of difficulties pronounced insuperable, in defiance of 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER, 23 

probabilities clearly demonstrated, not by human skill, or wis- 
dom, but by the spirit of God, the great end was reached. The 
rocks melted, the sea divided ; every valley was exalted ; 
every mountain and hill made low. 

To ail those preliminary movements which tended toward 
the happy result, Dr. Fisher gave all the strength of his influ- 
ence, fully, unhesitatingly, without reserve. There was no 
object, perhaps, nearer his heart, none which more moved his 
enthusiasm. The disruption had taken place in 1837, just 
before he entered upon his ministry. His father was the flrst 
moderator of the New School Assembly. The doctrines and 
the men, the causes and the consequences, he had heard dis- 
cussed from his boyhood, and now that these differences might 
be removed, harmony once more restored, confidence found in 
place of distrust, fraternal union instead of distant recognition 
or even repulsion, the angry waves all soothed and tranquil, 
his heart rose as on the wings of angels. He was one of the 
able committee of conference appointed by the two assemblies, 
which reported the jDlan of reiinion in 1869. Nor does he seem 
to have doubted the beneficent result. In behalf of the joint 
committee, he proposed the resolution for raising $1,000,000, 
immediately afterward raised to $5,000,000, as a memorial 
fund. His last work to which he gave himself with all the 
confidence and enthusiasm of his nature was to prepare a paper 
for the General Assembly of 1870, an assembly which he was 
never to see. If, in his eagerness for this, he forgot his own 
injunctions, if he forgot the need of rest and recreation, if, con- 
fident in his own strength, he tasked yet again his overwrought 
brain, if he failed to recognize the premonitions of nature, if he 
violated the spirit of his own words, that " the finest intellectual 
culture is dearly bought at the cost of shattered nerves and a 
broken constitution," it was, after all, in the spirit of a noble, 
generous and fervent devotion to the great ends of the king- 
dom of Christ. 

Some other things might have been set down. Some other 
characteristics portrayed, the inner and spiritual life opened 
somewhat to our reverent contemplation, but that it more fitly 
belongs to other lips and hands. 



24 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

The lessons of a noble and faithful life, whose last years 
were spent among us, are patent to iis all. Excellences which 
we see we may try to imitate, defects, to avoid, but even to 
recognize and acknowledge the truly good and great is itself 
a step toward the good. 

Happy for us if each, as the shadows lengthen, are filled 
with the hope which sustained him, and, as the evening draws 
on, can as serenely give up our account for the day's work, 
feeling that it has been faithfully done. 



ADDRESS BY HON. WM. J. BACON. 



When that eminent and every way remarkable man, the 
first president of Hamilton College, was prematurely called 
away from the position he had just begun to illustrate and 
adorn, a service like that in which we are now engaged, was 
observed in honor of his memory. On that occasion the 
thoughts of the assembly were led by that sainted man, Dr. 
Asahel S. l^Torton, long the honored and vene^-able pastor of the 
then Congregational Church, in Clinton. The tradition is that 
when he rose to address the congregation, he burst forth in 
the affecting and passionate utterance of King David when, in 
lamenting the untimely death of Abner, he exclaimed : "Know 
ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in 
Israel?" 

I know not how more appropriately I can express the con- 
viction of my own mind, or more fairly interpret yours, than 
to repeat those words which, nearly four years ago, spontane- 
ously rose to my lips when, as by a lightning flash out of a 
clear sky, that equally eminent, in some respects, more remark- 
able man, Samuel Ware Fisher, was, by a mysterious provi- 
dence, removed from the sphere of his influence and the seat 
of his power. A prince he was, not by virtue of any patent 
of nobility bestowed by an earthly monarch, but by the direct 
gift of Heaven with the royal signet of the giver legibly im- 
pressed thereon ; a prince in intellect, a prince in large and 
liberal culture, but over and above all, a prince in active sym- 
pathies, warm affections, and a great human heart going out 
impulsively toward all that pertained to man, however lowly, 
or sin-stained, or despised, and devoting his best powers and 
faculties to the good of the world and the glory of God, It 
was in the practical and persistent consecration of the gifts and 



26 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 



graces with which he was endowed to these large and benefi- 
cent ends, that he earned the title, secured the honors and 
obtained the rewards of a prince and a great man in Israel. 

It is not needful, nor would it be appropriate for me to nar- 
rate the personal history, or sketch the public career of Dr. 
Fisher. That has already been amply done by other and abler 
hands. I first made his acquaintance in connection with his 
accession to the ofiice of president of Hamilton College. I 
well remember the first interview I had with him after his 
arrival in Clinton. His reception of me, until then an entire 
stranger to him, was warm and cordial in the extreme ; and 
upon the instant there sprung up between us a personal 
attachment that was not only never interrupted by even a 
momentary break, but which on my part grew in strength and 
constancy up to the hour when last I felt the warm pressure 
of his hand, and caught the parting accents of his faltering 
lips. 

Whatever may be thought or said, perchance of the minor 
defects of his administration of the presidency of the college, it 
can not be questioned, I think, that as an instructor in those 
branches to which his thoughts and studies specially inclined 
him, he was eminently successful in awakening interest, evok- 
ing investigation, and impressing his own well-balanced and 
matured convictions upon the minds and hearts of those he 
instructed. He recognized, indeed, no royal road to knowl- 
edge — ^^ ad astra per aspei'a^'' hem^ ever his motto; but he 
not unfrequently by affluent diction and impassioned thought, 
conducted his scholars through many a flowery field to the 
temple of science, and it was ever a delight and a refreshment 
to him when his pathway led him and his companions " through 
green pastures and beside the still waters" where his Master's 
feet had led the way. 

It is impossible, however, that there can be any divided 
opinions in respect to the character, as it would be difficult to 
exaggerate the importance of the work he accomplished for 
Hamilton College in the community at large, and outside of 
and beyond her walls. The inaugural address which he deliv- 
ered upon his induction to the presidency, struck the key note 
of the system upon which he proposed to conduct the college* 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 27 

It was, in substance, the realization of the idea which was 
shadowed fortli by the venerable and honored founder of the 
institution, the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, when he declared that 
his hope was that the college might, " under the smiles of the 
God of wisdom, prove an eminent means of diflPusing useful 
knowledge, enlarging the bounds of human happiness, and 
aiding the reign of virtue, and the kingdom of the blessed 
Redeemer." He subsequently prepared an exhaustive essay 
and an eloquent plea for christian education, which he deliv- 
ered at various places with great acceptance and with most 
marked and beneficent results in enlightening the public mind 
and advancing the 23rosperity of the college. It was a work 
which had been long overlooked amid other duties and labors 
that seemed more pressing, but the time had come for its full 
presentation, and a happy Providence led the friends of the 
college to the selection of the man of all others, perhaps, most 
competent to meet the exigency and discharge the trust. And 
60 faithfully was it executed, that no occasion has since arisen, 
or probably will arise, that will require its repetition. 

In administering the affairs of tlie college, outside of the 
course of instruction and discipline. Dr. Fisher had the full 
cooperation of the Board of Trustees, of Avhich he was a mem- 
ber, and discharged even more than his share of those labors 
which devolved upon them. There were days ol anxious 
thought and deliberation ; the solving of financial problems 
always pressing ; the organization of larger means of instruc- 
tion and facilities, not only for dififusing useful knowledge, but 
for introducing a higher culture, to which he gave the best 
faculties of his mind, and labored with a diligence unappalled 
by obstacles, and a courage and persistency that would never 
accept defeat. 

Nor was it to the cares and duties pertaining to his high 
office, that he alone restricted himself. He was alive to every 
interest that affected society, his fellow men, and above all his 
country, which he loved with an almost passionate devotion, 
but at the same time with a discriminating patriotism. Hence 
it followed, as naturally as the night the day, the effect the 
cause, that when the first faint symptom of rebellion arrested 
attention, his quick ear and his watchful spirit caught the 



28 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

alarm, and when the overt act of treason was perpetrated, he 
asked no time for deliberation, he paltered not with timorous 
pleas for compromise, but instantly sprang into the arena, where, 
with vigorous pen and eloquent tongue, as well as with drawn 
sword, the great cause w^as to be defended. And well and 
nobly did he defend it. If there was a faint heart that needed 
strengthening, he stimulated and encouraged it, a doubting 
and vacillating spirit he rallied and rebuked it, a call to duty 
his voice was heard above the pleadings for ease and exemption, 
summoning to the sacrifice. With all that stood for the gov- 
ernment, the union, for liberty and law, he stood. For all 
that fell, martyrs to what he deemed a holy cause, he mourned, 
and with survivors mingled tears and congratulations. How 
grateful and how sustaining these were, I had full occasion to 
know. Although the shafts of death fell thick and fast among 
the households of those he loved, and his kind heart keenly 
felt and warmly sympathized with the bereaved, he still had 
words of encouragement and strength for them, and not for a 
moment did he surrender his faith in the final triumph of his 
country's cause. And when the victory was won, the union 
preserved, rebellion forever crushed, and freedom, blessed, 
blood-bought freedom, proclaimed for four millions of the down- 
trodden and the enslaved, he rejoiced with exceeding great joy, 
even as if he had seen in vision the coming ot millennial day. 
None but those who were associated with him, and who wit- 
nessed them, can fully appreciate the amount and extent of the 
labors he performed on behalf of the great cause, for to that 
cause he gave the choicest treasures of his intellect, and the 
warmest impulses of his heart. 

The special mission to which Dr. Fisher was called, and to 
which he devoted the best years of his life, was beyond all 
question the ministry. To this he felt himself impelled by 
a spontaneous choice and an early consecration, and for the ful- 
fillment of this mission he had peculiar gifts and adaptations. 
I well remember in conversation with a distinguished and ven- 
erable divine at Cleveland, the Rev. Dr. Aikin, formerly of 
this city, in view of the then recent election of Dr. Fisher to 
the presidency of Hamilton College, that he expressed the very 
highest opinion of his power as a preacher of the Gospel. 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER, 29 

" Indeed," said he, *' taking him for all in all, I consider him 
in the front rank not only, but as standing at the head of the 
American pulpit." I thought at the time that personal par- 
tiality had unconsciously influenced this judgment, but I had 
occasion afterward deliberately to weigh this estimate, and to 
arrive substantially at the same conclusion. Comparing him 
with some oth^r divines and pulpit orators of our day, he may 
be deemed inferior in some one or more special endowments. 
He had not, it may be conceded, to the same degree, the accu- 
rate analysis, the clear method, and the massive strength of 
Dr. John Hall, nor the intellectual intuition, or simple, yet pro- 
found, metaphysical discrimination of President Hopkins; 
neither was he gifted with the wonderful versatility, the keen 
insight and the torrent-like impetuosity of Beecher ; nor could 
he, perhaps, for a series of years, by winning and attractive 
simplicity, by pungent personal appeal, by the magnetism of 
eye and gesture, and clarion voice, hold, as Spurgeon does, 
six thousand auditors spell-bound from Sabbath to Sabbath. 

Still, as I have said, he had gifts and adaptions that well fit- 
ted him for his great work, and that are not often as largely 
combined in one character. Although not of an imposing 
person, there was something indescribably attractive, and even 
commanding in his presence. The dome of thought and re- 
flection was high and broad and strongly developed ; his eye 
was both tender and expressive ; the tones of his voice, if not 
in the highest sense musical, were well modulated and adapted 
to announce fittingly the most solemn truth and express the 
most soul-subduing tenderness, and when roused by strong emo- 
tion he would pour forth from a full mind and a warm heart, 
a tide of eloquent speech that would bear his hearers away as 
with the sweep and rush of mighty waters. His nature was 
strongly emotional, and so deeply did he feel the pressure of" 
his great commission that it was seldom he could conclude a 
discourse without a free flow of tears. He well understood 
and appreciated the maxim of the Roman satirist : 

" Si vis me fiere, dolendum est 
Primum ipsi tibi," 

He that would arouse emotion in his auditors must himself 
first " ope the fount of sympathetic tears." There was no his- 



30 MEMORIAI, OF DK. FISHER. 

triuiiisiu in this, neither the trick of the stage, nor the simula- 
tion of sensibility. It was the expression of genuine feeling 
inherent in his constitutional organization, and awakened by 
his estimate of the momentous nature of the message he was 
commissioned to deliver. His distinguished predecessor, Dr. 
Backus, had in this respect the same temperament, and exhib- 
ited uniformly the same emotion. It is related of him that on 
one occasion, Avhen he wept copiously he suddenly stopped and 
said, "Brethren, I beg pardon, for these tears, I could not help 
weeping, but there's no religion in it." It may indeed be true 
that logically speaking, there is no religion in mere tears, but 
when they are the expression of genuine sensibility, there is 
something near akin to it. Behind and beneath such tears 
there is a great and tender human heart that keenly feels the 
danger attending a thoughtless mind, a torpid conscience and 
an untroubled soul, and would pour out the wealth of its 
resources and the gushing tenderness of its nature to rouse the 
imthinking, awake the dormant, and startle into life and action 
the secure and undisturbed. No man could ever listen to Dr. 
Fisher when engaged upon those great themes with which his 
soul was filled, without a persuasion that he spoke from abso- 
lute conviction of the truth and an overwhelming sense of the 
importance of the message he bore as an embassador of Christ 
and a " legate of the skies," His ordinary discourses were 
full of thought as M'ell as of feeling. Those in this congrega- 
tion wdio heard the course of sermons on the " Epistle to the 
Hebrews," and on the " Life of Christ," need not be told that 
a more remarkable series of discourses has seldom been heard 
from an American pulpit. 

There w^ere public occasions also when he discussed great 
topics with a fullness and a power that left nothing more to be 
saidj and with results of conviction in the minds of his auditors 
that nothing could shake, nothing even disturb. There are sev- 
eral discourses of Dr. Fisher that would alone make a distin- 
o-uished reputation for any man, and that are to be ranked among 
the highest efforts of the pulpit of his day. W hat he was in pri- 
vate life, in the domestic circle, and in the quieter walks of his 
pastoral office, I need not dwell upon. The memory of all he 
was to them is written in the loving hearts, and enshrined in 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 31 

Ihe unfading memories of the kindred by whom he was cher- 
ished, and the people to wliom lie ministered. 

Such, most imperfectly, and in the merest outline sketched, 
w-as Dr. Samuel Ware Fisher up to the day and hour, when, at 
the flood-tide of his influence, and apparently in the meridian 
fullness of his intellectual and moral jjowers, he was, by the 
mysterious stroke of an unseen hand, suddenly struck down, 
leaving him with the bounding pulse of life faintly fluttering, 
the bright eye dimmed, the eloquent tongue mute or incohe- 
rent. His half executed plans, his high expectations, his large 
purposes arrested, nothing remained for him but with childlike 
trust and sweet patience to await the final summons which now 
has come in kindness to call him home. The temporary tor- 
por of his faculties has been at once dispelled, the clouds and 
the shadows that gathered about his setting sun have all been 
dissipated, the darkness has passed and light perennial and 
eternal beams on him, for in his own beautiful words : " Anoth- 
other teacher infinitely wise and good is now leading him up 
the heights of knowledge, and in a moment he has learned more 
than men on earth can ever know\" 

Wise instructor, faithful friend, true patriot, loving disciple 
of thy Master, earnest and eloquent proclaimer of the truth, 
farewell! Thou hast left this "bank and shoal of time," so 
unsatisfying, so disappointing, even in its best estate, and art 
safely landed on the eternal shore. Thy mental vision, so mys- 
teriously veiled, has been unsealed " at the fountain of heaven- 
ly radiance ;" thine eye undimmed, thine intellect unclouded, 
thy tongue unfettered, thou hast passed beyond the dim mists 
of earth into the clear light of heaven, and, walking in that 
illumination, 

"Nearer tlie great white tlirone. 
Nearer the crystal sea." 

thou shalt, with the redeemed hosts, the many called to glory 
through thy instrumentality, dwell in the presence and in the 
companionship of tliy Lord, to go no more out forever. 



ADDRESS BY REV. T. J. BROWN. 



''" The highest honor of Dr. Fisher's life came to him with the 
presidency of Hamilton College. But the greatest delight and 
the most solid satisfaction were connected with his pastorates^ 
in West Bloomlield, K. J., Albany, Cincinnati and Utica. He 
appreciated the honor, and felt always a just pride in having 
presided through so many years and with such marked accep- 
tance and success over a seat of learning so ancient and so hon- 
orable. And the years spent there were eminently happy ones 
as well as useful ; but there was a relish for him in pulpit and 
parish work, in all that constitutes the office of a pastor, such 
as was afforded him in no other sphere. He ever spoke of the 
college with warm aifection, and of his labors there with a 
degree of thankful satisfaction, but when he left them that he 
might assume again, after so long an interruption, the pastoral 
charge, it was with a joy and an alacrity that renewed hi& 
youth and made him, as he himself expressed it, " as happy as 
a child." 

Entering in such a spirit upon what he believed would be^ 
and, indeed, intended should be the last work of his life, his 
success was assured. He came at the close of an eminently 
successful pastorate — that of Rev. Dr. Samuel M. Campbell, 
now of Eochester — and found the church thoroughly harmo- 
nious and active. But he infused into it new life and spirit,, 
strengthening the cords of fellowship already strong, and at 
once starting the church upon a career of enterprising useful- 
ness far surpassing anything it had already attained to. 

Dr. Fisher was no stranger either to Westminster Church 
or the city of Utica, when he came to settle here. He had. 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 33 

already made full proof of his miniatry in our inid.st. Almost 
every church in the city had had experience of his eloquence 
as a preacher. And this reputation which he had thus already 
made for himself suffered no diminution, but rather was height- 
ened and brightened by the continuous effort of a settled pas- 
torate. It was so genuine and solid that it grew in estima- 
tion the more closely it was inspected. To the end he was a 
master of pulpit eloquence. 

I need not attempt here any analysis, or even an estimate 
of his power. That has been done, and done most admirabh', 
this evening, and this too is the very spot where he has held 
many a listening audience hanging iq)on his lips, delighted 
and instructed by his manly and vigorous oratory. It was 
such, I may say, however, that the impress of it on the 
minds of this people, at least, is not yet even dimmed, and it 
will never be entirely effaced. He preached, for most part, 
the grand, immortal truths most intimately relating to man's 
salvation through Christ, and his sermons, usually flowed in a 
stream of mingled argument and pathos, bearing with it equal- 
ly the understanding and the affection of his hearers. His 
ardor kindled as he advanced, and increasing conviction went 
along with his increasing energy. There was at the same time 
a perspecuity, and a simplicity that adapted his style to all 
classes and capacities of hearers and made him attractive to all. 
He was genuinely popular. But in an especial degree, and to 
a most notable extent, he attracted men of trained mind and 
thoughtful habit. Not a few are the men, prominent in this 
community, both in the church and out of the church, Avho to 
this day bear willing and thankful testimony to the mastery 
that Dr. Fisher attained over their minds and hearts to their 
present advantage and their eternal good. 

That he usually " was long preaching," and often far over- 
ste23ped the limit which modern patience, or impatience, has 
set to the length of a sermon, was owing in part to the fact 
that he was never content to merely suggest a thought ; he 
must needs elaborate it, trace all its bearings and display its 
various relations ; exhibit it in all its more delicate and subtle 
shade of meaning. This gave to his sermons unusual volume, 
but also great completeness. 



34 MKMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

But not in tlie pulpit only did he fcliino. Ilis reputation as 
a preacher was, as I have said, ah-eady established of old when 
he came to Utica. And so unusually is marked excellence as a 
])reacher, combined with an equal excellence as a pastor, that I 
think I may say there would have been no disappointment expe- 
rienced bj' Westminster Church if Dr. Fisher had proved com- 
l^aratively inefficient in pastoral work. Ilis recent lite as a 
scholar and teacher might seem to have unfitted him for this 
kind of effort. Certainly no large expectations were at all gen- 
erally entertained in this direction. xS evertheless, he did prove 
to be an exceptionably good pastor. lie gave living demonstra- 
tion that one man may be both great preacher and good pas- 
tor. In all the families that made up his congregation, his 
name is still a household word. He is mentioned everywhere 
throughout the parish almost as though lie had been an imme- 
diate member of each household, and the verv children, " the 
chicks,'' as he used to call them, hold him in loving remem- 
brance. Indeed, it is hardly too much to say that his social 
and pastoral virtues were not less distinguished than his talents 
as a preacher. Carrying everywhere an atmosphere of cheer- 
fulness and sunshine, no one ever met him in social life with- 
out feeling the charm of his manners and conversation. Slow 
to condemn and quick to sympathize, shrinking instinctively 
from wounding the feelings of any and prompt m all offices of 
kindness and love, he won the hearts of his people to a most 
singular degree. Xever was any pastor more universally 
beloved. The minister most covetous of the love of his people 
might well be satisfied with the measure of affection accorded 
to Dr. Fisher. 

Of this attachment he received numerous proofs and tokens. 
One of them may be mentioned here. AVeeks before the blow 
fell which so suddenly prostrated him, the quick eye of love 
detected the inroads being made upon his health by overwork. 
Straightway an immediate rest was urged upon him, and at his 
disposal were placed a long vacation and the funds that Mould 
enable him to .spend it in a trip to California. He appreciated 
tiie kindness and was very grateful, but so pressing seemed the 
work then in hand that he could not be persuaded to rest at 
once. He fixed a date, however, only about three weeks dis- 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 35 

taut. But before it came the blow had fallen, and a forced 
rest wa.s upon him, a vacation which will now never know any 
return to labor. 

Westminster Church by no means monopolized his labors. 
lie was in demand everywhere and made it a point to decline 
no opportunity for usefulness. 

The charitable institutions of this city all acknowledge them- 
selves his debtors. Every new scheme of benevolence enlisted 
his sympathy, and his sympathy was more than a sentiment ; it 
meant an efibrt either by voice or by pen. His wisdom helped 
to guide and his spirit to animate many an enterprise of public 
utility. His attendance upon all ministerial meetings, e.specially 
upon meetings of synod and presbytery, was so constant and 
punctual as to become proverbial. And no man took a deeper 
interest in the general state of the church and the propagation 
of the gospel abroad. The future glory of Christ's kingdom 
and the best means of promoting it were favorite themes with 
him ; they found place always in his thoughts and his prayers. 
JNTever was he more in his element than when devising plans 
for its extension, at home or abroad. He took al.so a lively 
interest in the temperance cause. It drew forth some of his 
ablest pulpit efforts. And believing that this cause should find 
its most etficient supporters among the members of our chris- 
tian churches, he was chiefly instrumental in organizing a 
Church Temperance Society, embracing the different churches 
of the city. One of his last plans of usefulness here w a the 
formation of a Parish Temperance Society for the children 
and youth of this church. 

His pastorate was a great success. The effects of his minis- 
try were striking and visible. He kindled an enthusiasm for 
home evangelization, identifving himself with the mission 
school efforts in which the church was already engaged, and 
inciting it to further ventures in the same direction. No rec- 
ord of his life could be complete without special mention of 
this. He tliought, and jjlanned, and labored ]:>ersonally for her 
missions as for the mother church. The East Utica Mission — 
now grown to a prosperous Church, self-supporting, and con- 
tributing, in its turn, to the support of others — was a special 
object of both pride and interest to liim. 



36 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

Moreover, lie developed such a spirit of giving aiiioiig the 
people as soon put the church in the front rank of contribu- 
tors to all our boards. But best of all he won souls to Christ 
How many will only be made known by the disclosures of the 
last day ; but seldom, if ever, did a communion occasion come 
round without some additions being made by profession of 
faith, and the number added on one such occasion alone was 
not less than iifty-seven. And the fruit was not all borne 
during his ministry. Of the large accessions made during the 
Urst two years of his successor's pastorate, not a few are direct- 
ly traceable to the labors of Dr. Fisher — labors that perhaps to. 
him had seemed barren and lost. His career closed at the very 
lieio-ht of his usefulness. His sun never went down. It seemed 
rather to stop midway in its course, a great cloud overshadow- 
ing it in the very midst of its meridian splendors. Through 
three w^eary years he cherished the hope of restoration, then 
that dimmed and died out, but hk faith never failed him. 
To the last he gave frequent expression to his unfaltering trust 
in God, Witness the scene about his family altar on the very 
morning before his death. He led the devotions, as was his 
wont, even through all his sickness. He selected the liymn^ 
and requested that it should be sung to " Jewett," the tune 
with which it was familiarly associated in their minds. He 
joined, as best he could, in the singing of it, and w^as visibly 
affected by its sentiment. The hymn tells the story of his 
submissive feith. It was : 

"Thy way, not mine, Lord, 

However dark it be ! 
Lead me by Thine own hand : 

Choose out the path for me. 
I dare not choose my lot ; 

I would not, if I might ; 
Choose Thou for me, my God, 

So shall I walk aright. 

"The kingdom that I seek 

Is Thiiiv ; so let the way 
That leads to it be Thine, 

Else I must surely stray. 
Take Thou my cup, and it 

With joy or sorrow fill 
As best to Thee may seem : 

Choose Thou my good and ill." 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 37 

Of five pastors who have filled this pulpit, he is the first to 
enter into rest. 

He is not dead, but only sleepinoj. God givetli His beloved 
sleep, not death, — sleeping that blessed sleep that carries witk 
it the promise of a more blessed awakening, the ])romise of 
renewed and higher activity, by and by. We will not think 
of him as dead. We will not think of those great powers 
with wdiicli he used so to move upon hearts and minds as being 
forever hereafter unused. We will think rather of a period 
put to all weariness, and fevered activit}', and toil too great for 
the strength, by a cabn of blessed sleep, and that to the end that 
the warm heart and brilliant mind, many powers of which, 
doubtless, lay undeveloped and undreamed of, may rise here- 
after to a fuller, nobler, holier service before the throne of God 
and the Lamb. 



At the conclusion of his discourse, Mr, Brown gave out the 
following'hymn, I'einarking that he did so because it w^as the 
last hymn ever given out from the pulpit of Westminster 
church by Dr. Fisher. It was given out on Sabbath evening, 
the 8th of May, 1870: 



" There is a blessed home 

Bejoud this land of woe, 
Where trials never come, 

Nor tears of sorrow flow ; 
Where faith is lost in sight 

And patient hope is crowned. 
And everlasting light 

Its glory throws around. 

■*' Look up ye saints of God ! 

Nor I'ear to tread below 
Tlie path your Saviour trod 

Of daily toil and woe ; 
Wait but a little while 

In uncomplaining love ; 
His own most gracious smile 

Shall welcome you above." 



|.ppcniii^\ 



FROM PROF. HENRY A. NELSON, D. D. 

Rev. Dr. Nelson writes to the New York Evangelist as follows : 

The funeral services have been attended to-day, January 21, at his 
residence, and at the Presbyterian Church on College Hill. The offi- 
ciating ministers were Rev. Wm. A. Bosworth, pastor of that church; 
Rev. T. H. Skinner, D. D., of the Second Presbyterian Church, Cin- 
cinnati ; Rev. Hugh Smythe, of the Seventh Church, and Professors 
Smith and Nelson, of Lane Seminary. The bearers were the elders 
of the Second Church and Mr. Lupton and Mr. Huntington — mem- 
bers of it — all whom had known and loved Dr. Fisher as their pastor. 

Prof. Smith appropriately alluded to the prominent incidents of 
Dr. Fisher's life down to the time of his removal from Cincinnati. 
He abstained from eulogy, as had been desired, " by those who loved 
him more tenderly than any others ;" but he recalled some pleasant 
and comforting reminiscences. Associating him, in his recollection, 
with the late Dr. D. Howe Allen, he remarked : '•' They were men 
altogether similar in faith and love," and " the leading power in the 
life-work of each was love, pervaded, hallowed, consecrated by his 
faith in Christ." He recalled Dr. Allen's expression concerning Dr. 
Fisher, at the time of his call from Albany to Cincinnati — " he is a 
man of God who will preach, from conviction, the simple gospel of 
Christ." Dr. Smith fitly appealed to those who enjoyed his ministry 
here, for the correctness of Dr. Allen's judgment. 

Speaking again of Dr. Allen and Dr. Fisher, he said : " Both 
these honored servants of Christ were alike in physical organization, 
slight in figure, John-like in benignity of aspect, with an almost fem- 
inine grace in the contour of his head and face, and in ease and dig- 
nity of movement. Perhaps in nervous organization Dr. Fisher was 
the more delicate of the two, as in temperament he was the more 
excitable and enthusiastic, and so yielded a year or two sooner to the 



40 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 



assaults of that fearful disorder which of late years has prostrated so 
many of our most highly gifted men." 

Dr. Smith also recalled an expression which he remembered to 
have been made by Dr. Fisher, in a prayer at the funeral of Rev. 
D. C. Lansing, D. D., who closed his eminently useful life on Walnut 
Hills. That memorable expression was "' We thank Thee, O God, 
that we may die." How expressive of his faith and hope concern- 
ing " the life everlasting." 

The writer of this stated that his personal acquaintance with Dr. 
Fisher began just as he was leaving Cincinnati, and he adverted to a 
number of incidents illustrating Dr. Fisher's genial and amiable dis- 
position, and the solid christian manliness which no less evidently 
belonged to his character. As an alumnus of Hamilton College, he 
testified to the high value of Dr. Fisher's services in that institution, 
in bringing it into closer and more nutritious connection than it had 
had before v.ith the churches, and the active christian life of western 
New York. He spoke also of Dr. Fisher's wise earnestness in giving 
the Bible the high place which it deserves in the college course of 
instruction. 

He alluded to the eminent part which Dr. Fisher had in the 
reunion of the Presbyterian church, and the sorrow felt in the general 
assembly of 1870, of which he should have been a conspicuous 
member, at the news of his then recent prostration. He also gave 
the testimony of Rev. Mr. Bosworth, to the beautiful christian spirit 
in which Dr. Fisher has borne his heavy affliction, during these last 
three years at College Hill. 



FROM CINCINNATI, 0. 

At a meeting of the Session of the Second Presbyterian Church, 
held March 2, 1874, the following memorial record of the life and 
services of the Rev. Samuel W. Fisher, deceased, formerly a pastor 
of that church; was ordered to be spread upon the minutes and a 
copy of the same to be furnished by the clerk to the widow of Dr 
Fisher. 

The Rev. Samuel W. Fisher, D. D., formerly pastor of this church, 
died suddenly at his residence at College Hill, near this citv, on the 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 



41 



1 8th of January, 1874. He was born in Massachusets, April 4th, 
18 14, was graduated at Yale College, and pursued the study of 
Divinity at Princeton and Union Theological Seminaries. 

He was elected pastor of this church in October, 1846, entered on 
the duties of the service in April, 1847, and so continued until July, 
1858, when he resigned to assume the duties of President of Hamil- 
ton College, N. Y. His ministry in this church was eminetly suc- 
cessful — one hundred and seventy-eight persons having been added 
to the church by profession and two hundred and forty-eight by letter 
during the eleven years of his pastorate. 

Dr. Fisher was a man of highly cultivated intellect and classic 
taste, of earnest and devoted piety, genial, affable and greatly beloved 
in his social relations. His influence reached far beyond the limits of 
this church and city. He was greatly esteemed throughout the Pres- 
byterian Church, and he received from the General Assembly the 
highest expression of their confidence and esteem, being selected as 
their Moderator in the year 1857 ; and in the reunion of the two 
branches of the church he was relied upon as among the most judi- 
cious counselors in the very delicate and difficult questions that im- 
peded its progress and threatened to prevent its consummation. 

His character was a rare combination of mildness and energy. 
Thus quietly operating, he put in motion various plans and organiz- 
ations in the church which resulted in great and lasting usefulness. 
Among them was the Young Men's Home Missionary Society, so 
successful in establishing Sabbath Schools, providing for vacant 
churches and other works of a similar character. He awakened an 
unusual interest in Foreign Missions, by appointing different mem- 
bers of the church to make reports at the monthly concerts, on the 
condition of the important foreign stations. He held regular meet- 
ings at his own house of the younger members of the church for devo- 
tion, consultation and advice. In numerous ways he was constantly 
leading on the church in matters of christian enterprise. 

Regarding Dr. Fisher's pastorate as one of great usefulness to our 
church, the session wish to put on their records this expression of 
their great regard for the man, their high estimation of his services, 
and also to express their deep sorrow at his loss and their deep sym- 
pathy with his widow and children in their bereavement. 

Bv Order of the Session, 

J. BURNET, Jr., Clerk. 



^3 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

FROM MONTCLAIR, N. J. 

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE SESSION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN 
CHURCH OF MONTCLAIR, N. J. 

Inasmuch as tidings have reached us of the departure from this 
Mfe of Rev. Samuel W. Fisher, D. D., therefore we, the Session of 
the Presbyterian Church of Montclair, N. J., do hereby 

Resolve^ That we desire to express the loving and grateful regard 
in which his memory is cherished among us as the first pastor of this 
church. Coming here in the beginning of his ministry, he manifested 
that fervent zeal and unremitting labor, which have ever made his life 
so full of usefulness and honor. During his ministry of a little more 
than four years in this place, his fidelity was crowned with two revivals 
of religion. We bless the Lord of the harvest for the tokens of his 
favor thus early given him as well as for all tlie happy results which 
have attended his earnest and devoted life. He being dead yet 
speaketh; and we gratefully remember him as one who once had the 
rule over us, who preached to us the word of life and whose faith we 
desire to follow, considering the end of his conversation. 

To the grace of the Holy Comforter do we commend those from 
whom the husband and father has been taken away, that he might 
be forever with the Lord. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be entered on the records of the 
Session and that a copy be sent to the family of Rev. Dr. Fisher, 
and also to the New York Evatigelist. 

By Order of the Session, 

J. ROMEYN BERRY, Moderator. 

Montclair, "jfan. 26, 1874. 



FROM HAMILTON COLLEGE. 

At a called meeting of the Faculty of Hamilton College, held in 
the Library, January 19, 1874, President Brown announced the sud- 
den death of Dr. Samuel W. Fisher, and the following resolutions 
were reported by Professor North, and unanimously adopted. 

Resolved, That the death of Dr. Samuel W. Fisher, for eight 
years President of Hamilton College, calls upon us to make grateful 
mention of his varied and most valuable services, during a critical 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 43' 

period of its history, in presenting with fervid and convincing elo- 
quence its claims and needs as a seat of higher christian learning, in 
filling one of its chairs of instruction, in adding largely to its resources, 
in broadening its field of influence and in making it more fruitful in 
the work of ministerial education. 

Resolved, That we tender our christian sympathy to the family of 
Doctor Fisher in their great bereavement and sorrow, while we rejoice 
with them in the past beneficent activities of the earthly life now 
renewed and made perfect in the life eternal. 

Resolved, That President Brown be requested to deliver a Memo- 
rial Discourse on the life and services of President Fisher, in the 
chapel of the college on a day to be named hereafter. 



FROM MINNESOTA. 



At a meeting of the college alumni of Minnesota, held at St. Paul, 
Jany. 30th, 1874, there were present the following graduates of Ham- 
ilton College: Hon. H. L. Moss, Rev. H. N. Payne, M. G. Wil- 
lard, James W. Lawrence, Henry M. Knox, H. G. Butler and Rev. 
David R. Breed. The following resolutions, introduced by Rev. 
H. N. Payne, were by them unanimously adopted : 

Whereas, It has pleased God to take to himself. Rev. Samuel W. 
Fisher, D. D., LL. D., late president of Hamilton College, and 

]V/iereas, We, of the Minnesota alumni of said college, assembled 
this day in St. Paul, desire to give some fitting expression of our feel- 
ings in connection therewith, therefore be it 

Resolved, That in the disease and death which have removed this 
servant of God at the time when his ripened experience and widely 
extended usefulness gave greatest opportunity for good, we recognize 
the hand of One whose ways are hid from the eyes of men, but 
whose acts are ever directed by Infinite Wisdom and Infinite Love. 

Resolved, That in the death of Dr. Fisher, christian learning has 
lost an able advocate, the church a faithful servant, the evangelical 
pulpit a roost able and eloquent preacher and the cause of Christ 
a powerful and devoted friend. 

Resolved, That while we in common with many others, in this and 
other lands, sympathize with his family and friends in their great sor- 
row and loss — largely our own — we rejoice in that our beloved 
teacher, counselor and friend has already entered on his great reward. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be published in the Interior, Evan- 
gelist and Hamilton Literacy Monthly, and that a copy be transmitted 
to his son, the Rev. S. J. Fisher, and his family in Cincinnati, 

DAVID R. BREED, Clin. 



44 MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 

FROM PROF. E. A. HUNTINGTON. D. D. 

Theological Seminary, Auburn, N. Y., Jan. 27, 1874. 

Dear Mrs. Fisher : It would be cruel to burden you with many 
words in the time of your great sorrow. But we may assure you of 
our deep, heart-felt symj^athy with you and your dear family. We 
share your grief, and earnestly pray for your support and consola- 
tion, as also for your " profit " in " the peaceable fruit of righteous- 
ness," according to the gracious design of " the Father of spirits," 
that every chastisement of His hand may contribute to make you 
" partakers of His holiness." 

It is very sad to me to think that my nearest neighbor in the Pres- 
byterian ministry in Albany, is called away, and doubly sad that he 
and Dr. Pohlman, who were settled so early at the same time in 
Albany, should be taken within two or three days of each other. 

Your lamented husband did a great work and did it well. His 
honored name will not be forgotten on earth, and he has already 
entered upon his reward in heaven. 

With affectionate regards to the sons and daughter, we are, 
Yours very affectionately, 

Mr. and Mrs. E. A. HUNTINGTON. 



FROM HON. 0. S. WILLIAMS, LL D. 

Clinton, January 24, 1874. 

My Dear Mrs. Fisher : I received with profound grief the 
announcement of the sudden death of Dr. Fisher, and if it was an 
event not entirely unexpected, I Avas yet by no means prepared for 
its so early occurrence, for I had never quite abandoned the hope 
that he would be restored, in a reasonable degree at least, to his for- 
mer health and activity. 

The end has come, and nothing that I can say will lighten the 
blow, which has fallen upon you and your family, and still I desire 
to express in these few words, my sincere sympathy with you, in this 
your deep affliction. 

My relations with Dr. Fisher, especially while he was president of 
the college, were quite familiar, and I may almost say intimate, and 



MEMORIAL OF DR. FISHER. 45. 

he was one of the men that I learned to admire and honor and 
love. 

The service which he rendered to the college, in a trying period 
of its history, was priceless, and the influences for good which he 
here put in motion, will be remembered and felt for years and years 
to come. 

A solemn Memorial service is to be held in the college chapel on 
Thursday of next week, of which some account will be furnished 
you. 

But, at present, I must not say more, and with my kindest regards- 
to you and your family, in which Mrs. Williams joins, 
I remain, very truly, your friend, 

O. S. WILLIAMS. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OF 



WESTMINSTER CHURCH, UTICA, N. Y. 



BY THEODORE POMEKOY. 



The organization of the Westminster Church, in the city of 
ITtica, seemed to be a necessity growing- out of the somewhat 
peculiar and disturbed condition of church relations existing 
at that time. The fact of its organization was due rather to 
the appreciation of this condition, by persons residing abroad, 
than to any incipient measures to this end taken by those liv- 
ing in this community. 

In Sept. 1S43, Eev. Joshua II. Mcllvaine, then preaching 
^t Little Falls, I^. Y., gave public notice that he would hold 
Sabbath services in the then unoccupied building now used as 
.a place of worship by the Bleecker Street Baptist Church. 
Through the aid of Eev. Dr. Cuyler, of Philadelphia, he ob- 
tained the sum of $200, with which to pay the rent for the 
first six months; the further sum of $200 was raised by col- 
lections taken in the church for the rent of the rest of the 
year. The whole pecuniary lesponsibility of the transaction 
was assumed by Eev. Mr. Mcllvaine : with the exception of 
Rev. Dr. Cuyler, no one had been consulted or advised with 
us to the expediency of engaging in this new church enterprise. 

As soon as a congregation was gathered, a Sabbath school 
was started, M'hicli in less than two months numbered two 
hundred and fifty children and thirty teachers, which was su- 
perintended by Rev. Mr. Mcllvaine, and by whom the necessary 
funds were raised, mostly from the teachers, to carry it on. 



48 HISTORICAL SKETCH 

This Sabbath school at once became the principal matter of 
interest in the whole movement, and undoubtedly contributed 
more than anjthini^ else, to the ultimate establishment of the 
church itself. The congregation was large, but of a very mixed 
(;haracter ; so much so, that it was not deemed prudent to at- 
tempt an organization for nearly eleven months. With the ob- 
ject in view of purging it of elements objectionable, and per- 
haps dangerous to its future peace and harmony, special and 
exciting topics M'ere preached upon, wdiich, having the desired 
effect, an organization was at length obtained. 

The Board of Missions contributed $400 to support the 
Rev. Mr. Mcllvaine during the hrst year of his labors in this 
new field ; at its close, and three months after its organization, 
the church was self sustaining, and nothing was afterward re- 
ceived from the Board. 

The services thus begun in September, 1843, were regularly 
continued with increasing success, until July 23, 1844, wlien 
" The Westminster Presbyterian Society of Utica," was for- 
mally organized with sixty-one persons for its membership, 
and with the installation of Rev. Mr. Mcllvaine as its pastor. 
Soon after this, the church building owned by the Universalist 
Society, on Devereux street, was purchased and immediately 
occupied by this new church and congregation. On September 
3d, 1847, the connection between pastor and people was ter- 
minated by the resignation of Rev. Mr. Mcllvaine. 

It is not too much to say, that the j^ermanent success of an 
enterprise like this, depended very greatly upon the character^ 
ability and purpose of the pastor, M'hose moulding hand should 
first undertake the work of bringing into practical shape and 
union, the diversified and disaffected elements that were scat- 
tered over this community. Among those ready to join in a 
new church organization were many persons of intellectual 
ability, wealth and social influence : while such men gave 
especial prominence to this new enterprise, yet it i& easy to- 
see that the pastor fitted successfully to conduct such a move- 
ment, must himself be able to command a general confidencey 
admiration and respect. 

Rev. Mr. Mcllvaine was a young preacher, of great personal 
energy, and independence of character ; possessing, to a marked 



OF WESTMINSTER CHURCH. 49 

degree, originality of thought, fine mental power, and an ac- 
curate and logical method, joined with an earnestness and en- 
thusiasm well fitted to win all classes of hearers. Adapting 
himself to the exigencies of his position, he exhibited great 
versatility in his preaching; at one time by addressing the in- 
tellectual faculties of his audience, and at another by charming 
their imagination, he became nn equal favorite among both the 
older and younger portions of his increasing congregation. 
But whatever the means he chose to employ, he never lost 
sight of teaching and enforcing that great truth which, lying 
at the foundation of religion itself, he sought also to make the 
corner-stone of this church he was sent to plant and develop, 
during the years of its early and perilous infancy. 

llev. Dr. Mcllvaine, since his connection with Westminster 
Church, has occupied the position of pastor in the First Pres- 
byterian Church of Kochester ; that of Professor at Princeton 
College, and is now settled over one of the largest and most 
flourishing churches in Newark, New Jereey. 

The Kev. H. S. Dickson, of Philadelphia, was chosen the 
second pastor of this church ; entering upon his duties August 
■1st, 1S48, he was installed October 31st, in the same year. 
The membership at this time was about one hundred. The 
period of his pastorate was an eventful one. The church 
building on Devereux street was materially enlarged and im- 
proved in 1849; a few years later, it was totally destroyed 
by fire, leaving his congregation without a place for worship. 
During the temporary occupation of tlie Court House for 
Sabbath and other services, the active business qualifications 
of the Rev. Mr. Dickson were employed in devising and execut- 
ing plans for the erection of its present beautiful church build- 
ing at the head of Washington street, which was completed 
and occupied early in 1855. This was a great undertaking for 
this new, and as respects numbers, comparatively feeble church. 
But by the persistence and enthusiasm of both pastor and 
people, all difiiculties were overcome, and the sum of nearly 
§35,000 was provided with which to purchase the site and 
erect this new place of worship. 

During the pastorate of Eev. Mr. Dickson, the membership 
of the church was more than doubled, and those great material 

D 



50 HISTORICAL SKETCH 

advantages acquired M'hicli enabled it to fill an important and 
influential position as one of the leading religious organiza- 
tions of this city and vicinity. If the Westminster church, 
was fortunate in securing for its first pastor, those eminently 
characteristic qualifications needed for planting a vigorous 
church organization, it was none the less fortunate in securing 
as his successor, one possessing those practical business abili- 
ties, which enabled him, out of disaster, to lead his people into 
the possession of the commodious and beautiful edifice they 
now occupy as the place for their worship. 

During a pastorate of about ten years of active and practical 
labor, in which period Dr. Dickson had endeared himself to all, 
by his kindly social and christian graces, he offered his resig- 
nation, which was most reluctantly accepted. 

After concluding a pastorate of a few years at Lewisburg, 
Pa., Dr. Dickson retired from the active duties of his profession, 
but not from a participation in his high privilege of preaching 
the gospel of Christ, as occasion ofi'ers, in some of the churches 
of Philadelphia, the city of his present residence. 

In .lune, 1858, the Kev. Samuel M. Campbell was elected 
the third pastor, and duly installed over a church having a 
membership of about two hundred and thirty. In many res- 
pects totally unlike either of his predecessors, he w\is inferior 
to neither in personal character or mental ability. A man of 
independent, earnest and intense convictions, with courage to 
follow wherever they should lead him, he did not fail to take 
an advanced position on all the great questions of reform ; and 
especially upon the subject of slavery, then agitating the com- 
munities and the churches, he left none to infer upon what 
ground he stood. It is given to but few men to concentrate 
thought with such logical precision and conciseness of state- 
ment. 

During his pastorate, the church was welded together and 
made more homogeneous. Although antagonisms are likely to 
be developed under uncompromising utterances of truth, in the 
direction of either civil or religious thought, yet Dr. Camp- 
bell's ministrations quite largely increased its membership; they 
gained for this church a reputation for conspicuous pulpit abil- 
ity, and attracted the respect and attention of many of the 
most intellijyent and cultivated minds in this community. 



OF WESTMINSTER CHURCH. 51 

Under this pastorate also, Mr. Briggs W. Thomas, one of 
the oldest and^niost respected members of this church, gener- 
ously provided a convenient and commodious building on 
Francis street, for the Olivet Mission School; which, but for 
his personal interest and private liberality would not probably 
have been instituted at all. This school for many years was a 
flourishing and important auxilary to the church, in this new 
field of christian work. 

The organization of the Bethany church, owes its existence 
to the Mission school started in East Utica, under the special 
care and direction of Dr. Campbell, by whose guidance and 
supervision it was so fully developed, that the organization of 
the church itself was completed very soon after the settlement 
of his successor as pastor of Westminster Church. 

The Rev. Dr. Campbell resigned his pastorate, to accejjt a 
call to the Central Church, Rochester, N. Y., which highly im- 
portant and influential position he still occupies and adorns 
with marked ability and success. 

Under these three pastorates, covering a period of about 
twenty-three years, the work of planting, developing and ma- 
turing had, progressed under circumstances so fortuitous as to 
leave little or nothing to regret or disappoint. A power be- 
yond that of human foresight had been directing the destines 
of this church, founded as it seemed to be, in obedience to the 
providence of God, which had so clearly opened its way, and 
thus far in its history had been directing its steps. 

The Rev. Dr. Fisher, President of Hamilton College, accepted 
the invitation of the Session to supply its pulpit upon the Sab- 
bath, and for some months regularly preached to this people, 
while the committee chosen for the purpose, was endeavoring 
to select a successor to the pulpit made vacant by the resigna- 
tion of Dr. Campbell. Being unable to receive favorable re- 
sponses to their eft'orts in this direction, they at length decided 
to venture a call to Dr. Fisher himself. It was at the time 
hardly expected that such a call would be entertained, much 
less accepted by one whose eminent and acknowledged abili- 
ties titted him for a position of far greater and more command- 
ing importance and influence. But this call being made out 



52 HISTORICAL SKETCH 

and offered, it was received with evidences that upon the com- 
pliance with certain conditions, it was likely to be accepted. 

The only difficulty to remove that seemed at all serious, was 
the change required by the transfer of the connection of this 
church from the Old to tlie New School General Assembly. 
From its very organization this church had affiliated and acted 
with the Old School branch, and some of its strongest and 
l)est friends were unmistakably attached to this connection, 
and wei'e not likely to yield their preference without reluctance. 
And but for the fact that an organic union between these two 
bodies was imminent and surely expected and counted upon, it 
is doubtful if the condition required would have been almost 
unanimously conceded, after a full, fair and careful deliberation. 

The union soon after efl'ected fully justified the expediency 
and the wisdom of waiving objections, that if persisted in, 
would not only have deprived this church of the services of 
Dr. Fisher, but in the end, have revealed the fact that, as ob- 
jections, they were soon to lie removed by the action of other 
and higher powers. That the time for reiuiion was at hand, 
and a further adherence to the ])ast causes of separation was 
nnnecessary, is made evident by the proceedings of the ISfa- 
tional Presbyterian Convention at Philadelphia, where two 
representative men — -one of each school — Dr. Hodge and Dr. 
Fisher, by agreement in certain simple statements of doctrine, 
seemed to lead the whole convention, and so prepare the way 
for the organic union which was speedil}^ perfected. 

This action of the "Westminster Church, in yielding the nat- 
ural objections involved in a change from the Old to the New 
School body, was not only its practical testimou}^ that they no 
longer existed in its own experience, but it also forshadowed 
that more conspicuous evidence to the same fact, which soon 
after occurred at Philadelphia, when Dr. Ilodge, the leading 
Old School theologian, took Dr. Fisher by the hand, in pres- 
ence of the whole assembly, saying, ^" Then I can give my 
brother Fisher the right hand of fellowship."' It seemed, 
therefore, proper, in view of the whole case, that Dr. Fisher, 
who was destined to act s^c* prominent a part in eflecting this 
reiinion, should have jireferred to officiate as pastor over a 
church in the eame connection with himself; and that the 



OF WESTMINSTER CHURCH. 53 

Westminster Church should]waive objections that were speedily 
to be removed, and that too, very largely through the public 
influence and act of the very pastor it was endeavoring to ob- 
tain. 

The consent of the church and congregation having been 
given to the proposed change in church relations, Dr. Fisherj 
resigning the Presidency of Hamilton College for this purpose, 
was elected pastor on the 8th of May, 1860; the call was 
accepted June lltli, and the installation services occurred on 
!Nov. 15 th, of the sairie year. The sermon was preached by 
Rev. Dr. Mcllvaine, the first pastor, and the charge to the 
pastor elect was made by Kev. Dr. Fowler, of the First Presby- 
terian Church, of Utica. The church at this time contained 
about two hundred and eighty members. 

Dr. Fisher was now at the very maturity of his physical 
and mental powders, and he entered upon this new field of 
labor with great vigor and enthusiasm, intending to spend the 
remainder of his years of active usefulness among the people 
over whom he Avas now called to officiate as pastor and preacher. 
He confidently looked forw^ard to a period of many years, in 
which to accomplish effective and important labor for the 
church of Christ. Into every department of his church he at 
once began to infuse his own personal energy and activity, and 
systematic efforts were made in every possible direction for the 
accomplishment of desired and beneficent results. As evi- 
dences of his influence over his people and of the success of 
his administration, it may be stated that the early part of his 
ministry was signalized by the accomplishment of three im- 
portant results, which doubtless could not have been obtained 
under other circumstances, or at any former period in the his- 
tory of this church. The personal attachment of his people 
led them to purchase, for a parsonage, a valuable and finely 
located residence on Rutger street ; the beautifnl chapel build- 
ing, which had been previously erected by E. M. Gilbert, Esq., 
was now, by him, donated and deeded to the church ; and the 
mission enterprise in East Utica, (which in former years had 
its development in the generosity of Mrs. H. C. Wood,) hav- 
ing growm into a mission church, now became an independent 
or<ranization, under the name of " The Bethanv Church.'' To 



54 HISTORICAL SKETCH 

aid tliis new organization, tlie liome church gave np fifty one 
of its own members who were willing to identify themselves 
with this new and important field of christian labor. Under 
Dr. Fisher's administration, the Sabbath school of the church, 
and its two mission schools, numbered nearly six hundred 
scholars ; and the church membership subsequent to the organ- 
ization of " Bethany" reached about three hundred and sixty- 
five. 

These statements and results exhibit the highly prosperous 
condition of this church, in its varied interests, during the 
early period of the ministry of Dr. Fisher. For nearly four 
years of active and j^rogressive work the church enjoyed the 
ministrations and stimulating energies of this able, active and 
untiring pastor. Other and abler hands have, in this memorial 
book, set forth the peculiar excellencies- and powers of Dr. 
Fisher in his varied positions as teacher, pastor, preacher and 
eloquent orator. 

The abrupt termination of his labors among his people was 
a surprise and shock, as painful as it M'as sudden and mys- 
terious. On the evening of May 11, 1870, Dr. Fisher was 
occupied in his study at the church, in the preparation of a 
discourse he was invited to preach at the coming meeting of 
the General Assembl3\ Returning to his home at quite a late 
hour, he stopped to inquire as to the condition of one of his 
parishioners, then suffV'ring temporary illness. He never ap- 
peared more genial, social and in better spirits than upon this 
occasion. Shortly after reaching his home, he was stricken; 
with the disease, that, after holding him within its deadl}" 
grasp for nearly four 3'ears, at length caused his sudden and 
unexpected death at Cincinnati. 

The hopelessness of his case, induced him, on the 13th day 
of January, 1871, to offer his resignation, wdiich, being an ab- 
solute necessity, was acquiesced in by his people : his salary 
was continued until the first of May following, thus comple- 
ting about one full year, during wdiich he was utterly incapa- 
citated from discharging any of the duties he loved so well ta 
pei'form. The letter of resignation, and the resolutions passed 



OF WESTMINSTER CHURCH. 55 

by his church,* show how hopeless wastlie sad condition of tliis 
beloved friend and pastor, and how fall of painful sympathy 
and high appreciation was the heart of hi' people under this 
great atfliction and sudden deprivatior 

*To the Session and Members of Westminster Chv , Otica, N. Y: 

The afflictive providence of God has i A me aside from the duties of my 
profession, and consequently, for the present, debars me from fulfilling my- 
obligations to you as preacher and pastor. 

Leaving the future with all ijs uncertainties in his hands, while thanking- 
God for the blessed privilege of ministering for Him, in your puljjit, and 
expressing my gratitude to you for the affection always manifested to me 
in the relation of pastor and people, I am constrained to ask for a dissolu- 
tion of this pastorate, and request you to ixnite with me in this petition 
before presbytery. 

• SAMUEL W. FISHER. 

Utica, iV. T., January 13, 1871. 



*At a meeting of the congregation called to consider the above, the fol- 
lowing resolutions were unanimously adopted : 

Whereas, Our beloved Pastor, Dr. Samuel W. Fisher, was, in May 
last, by the mysterious dispensation of Providence, stricken down in the 
height of his power and usefulness ; and, notwithstanding the various ex- 
pedients resorted to for the restoration of his health of body and vigor of 
mind, does not as yet experience the hoped for evidence of recovery ; and 

WuEREAS, In view of the above condition, he having voluntarily tendered, 
to us, the people of his charge, an unconditional resignation of his duties 
and responsibilities as our pastor ; therefore. 

Resolved, That in most reluctantly accepting this resignation, and thus- 
assenting to the severance of relations that have been to us as a church, a 
source of great prosperity ; we hereby desire to bear witness to the eminent 
ability. Christian gentleness, untiring fidelity, and absolute consecration of 
every power of mind and body to the upbuilding, not only of this particu- 
lar church, but also to that comprehensive love which embraced the pros- 
perity of the church of Christ, and the spread of his kingdom in the world.. 

Resolved, That in consequence of the unselfish devotion of his life to the 
work and cause of Christ, no adequate provision is made for the wants and 
necessities of his family, who, partaking of the same generous and self- 
sacrificing spirit, have ever lived obedient to the calls of duty and charity, 
and especial duty rests, not only upon his own people, but upon every sym- 
pathizing heart, to so generously contribute to Christ, in the person of this 
his devoted servant, that the anxieties and burdens respecting temporal 
matters be not added to those already so afflictive and heavy to bear. 

Resolved, That in addition to the aid we, as individual members of his 
church and congregation, design to offer and solicit in his behalf, Ave con- 
tinue the salary of Dr. Fisher to the first day of May next, thus completing 
the full year of our deprivation of his ministrations and services. 

Resolved, That whilst we appreciate the claims of the short, but delight- 
ful nature of the pastoral relations, that for nearly four years of active 
service has endeared our pastor to every one of his jieople, we also cannot 
fail to recognize the obligations of other churches and institutions, which, 
in years that are past, have grown strong, and are this day enjoying in- 
creased prosperity, because of the earnest and self-sacrificing discharge of 



56 HISTORICAL SKETCH 

In their expression, the sympathies of his people took the 
practical shape of supplying so far as possible, such pecuniary 
assistance as seemed appropriate to this servant of Christ, who, 
in laboring for the Master, had made no adequate provision 
for himself and family. As the result of these efforts, the sum 
of nearly $10,000 was obtained, including the salary for the- 
year of his incapacity; which sum, with the exception of les* 
than $3,000, was given him by the people of his own clmrcb. 

The removal of Dr. Fisher and family to Cincinnati, his 
mental and physical condition while there, and the circum- 
stances of his sudden death, are full}^ given in the statements 
of others whose addresses are found in this memorial tribute 
to his eminent, varied and valued services. 

For nearly a year and a half the church was deprived of 
the services of a regular pastor. This long period of waiting 
was in the hope that some favorable change might yet occur, 
and restore Dr. Fisher to the position he had been forced so 
suddenly to surrender. Immediately after his resignation, the 
church again entered upon the difhcult and dangerous duty 
of finding some one qualified to succeed this accomplished and 
eloquent preacher. It is not necessary here to record the dis- 
couragements and disappointments that attended all efforts in 
this direction. That great caution and wisdom was necessary, 
is apparent from the fact that the large membership which had 
been attained, was greatly the result of the personal power and 
popularity of Dr. Fisher ; and it was feared that much of this 
was likely to be lost, if a mistake was now made, and a fitting 
successor was not chosen. 

the arduous duties once resting upon liim. Nor can we even thus limit tlie 
claims of this faithful servant of Christ, whose eloquent voice has been 
heard on every field wherein the church has struggled for union, or made 
aggressive movements against the powers of evil. 

Resolved, That a committee of four be appointed to solicit subscriptions 
in the Westminster church and congregation, toward purchasing for Dr. 
Fisher and his family b. permanent Jiome, wherever they may deem it ex- 
pedient or desirable ; and that Messrs. T. Pomeroy, S. S. Lowery, A. Gard- 
ner, and J. H. Mallory, constitute that committee. 

Resolved, that this same committee be authorized to receive donations, 
for the same object, from other churches, institutions, and individuals, de- 
siring thus to recognize the scriptural obligation, "Bear ye one another's, 
burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." 



OF WESTMINSTER CHURCH. 57 

After almost every possible eflort had been made without 
tlie least success, the attention of the committee was drawn 
almost accidentally to consider the expediency of making out 
a call to the Eev. Thomas J. Brown, of Philadelphia. Suffice 
it to say that so satisfactory were the reports as to this young 
and promising preacher, and so confident were the people that 
he was fitted for the position they desired him to fill, that the 
unusual course was taken of giving him an unanimous call, 
without having had an opportunity of seeing or hearing him 
preach. A subsequent interview resulted in confirming this 
call, which being accepted, Rev. Mr. Brown entered npon his 
duties on the 30th of April, 1871, and was installed on the 11th 
of October following, over a church then having about three 
hundred and sixty-five members. 

Tender his pastorate, the church has prospered in all its 
various departments of christian work, and has never been in 
a more flourishing condition than at the present time. The 
Sabbath School now^ numbers some four hundred scholars ; and 
every desirable pew is rented and occupied. This practical 
result demonstrates very clearly that the sudden and sad event 
that deprived this church of the services of Dr. Fisher, did not 
perceptably interrupt its prosperity and growth. 

In closing this rapid review of the history of the Westmins- 
ter Church through the past thirty years, it is but just to say 
that at each trying period it did not lack able and willing 
friends to meet the exigency as it arose, and carry forward any 
plan that had for its object the firm establishment of an influ- 
ential and permanent religions organization. Although this 
church is now in possession of an edifice ranking among the 
finest in this city, of a valuable and desirably located parsonage, 
and of a beautiful chapel building, it has not been indifferent 
to the claims of others needing its help and fostering care. Its 
contributions to all the general objects of christian benevolence 
iind charity have been uniformly liberal ; its Sabbath Schools 
for many years supported one or more missionaries in distant 
parts of our country, whose efforts resulted in the founding of 
hundreds of new Sabbath Schools in the West, and tlie instruc- 
tion of many thousands of neglected children in the truths of 
the gospel of Christ. Out of many of these schools have 



•58 HISTORICAL SKETCH 

already grown independent and nseful churches, while many 
more of thera will doubtless attain the same desirable result. 

But with respect to its specific external influence none is 
■more conspicuous than that involved in the establishment and 
organization of " Bethany Church," which is the legitmate de- 
velopment of the humble mission school started a few 3'ears 
-ago in East Utica, by this church. Through the generosity of 
Mrs. E. M. Gilbert and family, a large and most commodious 
building has been erected, and a self-supporting church, with a 
Sabbath School scarcely excelled by any in this city in point of 
-numbers or real efhciency, there exists, as a permanent bless- 
ing to a neighborhood that formerly M-as among the worst and 
most forbidding for mission effort, in our vicinity. The estab- 
lishment of this church in that locality has changed its whole 
aspect and character ; and to the moral and spiritual benefits 
there resulting, is added a new impulse to material advance- 
ment and prosperity. 

That the Westminster Church has been able to make so good 
-a record, and exhibit a progress so steady and uninterrupted,is 
■due, under the blessing of God, to the fact that it was planted 
at a time when a new church organization was really needed ; 
that it presented no hostile attitude or rivalry toward any ex- 
isting establishment ; that no illegitimate influence was ever 
employed either to undulj- attract others from their church 
connections, or to gain for itself favor or popularity by sensa- 
tional or ephemeral means. 

From the very first its aim has been to teach no tlieolog}^ 
except that clearly taught by Christ and his inspired apostles, 
■and studiously and carefully to avoid all (piestions and contro- 
versies in respect to doctrine and faith, that had not a clear and 
acknowledged foundation in the precepts of the gospel. The 
largest liberty of opinion and belief, consistent with loyalty to 
God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, has ever been the un- 
challenged right of every member of this church ; all its ben- 
efits, privileges and blessings have been freely offered on con- 
ditions so unsectarian and liberal as to attract and win. To 
■such influences as these we must attribute tliat spirit of union 
which has ever been a characteristic of this church ; an union 
of sentiment and purpose that has throughout its whole history 



OK WESTMINSTER CHURCH. 59» 

shown itself in ovc:y direction in which it has been called 
either to snifer or to act. Out of this vital union of member- 
ship has grown the strength that has enabled it so greatly to- 
prosper, even while it was liberally expending itself in behalf 
of the prosperity of others. 

To its unbroken line of able, earnest and faithful pastors, 
each one, in his time, seeming peculiarly titted for the special 
needs of the church, it is chiefly indebted for its harmony, 
power and efficacy. To one is given wisdom, courage and 
grace to plant ; to another, the genius, tact and persistence to 
build up and develop ; to the third, a high degree of mental 
powder and precision to crystalize and mature ; to the fourth, 
those graces and attractions of style and eloquence that were 
favorable to rapid development and growth ; and to the last 
and present pastor, something that seems to combine in himself' 
so much of the qualities of each of his predecessors, as not 
only to enable his church to hold fast to all her previous acqui- 
sitions and influence, but also to fit her for a prosperity in tha 
future, not inferior to that she has enjoyed in the past. 



